Fortunately, however, these precautions proved unnecessary.  No other canoes were seen on the lake, and they landed, unnoticed, at a spot a mile and a half to the west of Crown Point.  Before starting from Fort William Henry, James had laid aside his uniform, and had dressed himself in hunting shirt and leggings, similar to those worn by the scouts.  He had adopted various little details, in which the Canadian hunters differed from those on the English side of the frontier.  The latter wore their hunting shirts loose in Indian fashion, while the Canadians generally wore a leathern belt outside theirs, at the waist.

His cap was made of squirrels’ skins, which would pass equally well on both sides of the frontier.  The fire bag, in which tobacco, tinder, and other small matters were carried, was of Indian workmanship, as was the cord of his powder horn and bullet pouch.  Altogether, his get-up was somewhat brighter and more picturesque than that of English scouts, who, as a rule, despised anything approaching to ornament.

He knew that by disguising himself he would be liable, if captured, to be shot at once as a spy; but this could not be considered, under the circumstances, to add to the risk he ran, for, in any case, he was certain to be killed if detected, and it would have been out of the question to attempt to approach the French camp in the uniform of a British officer.  Could he have spoken Canadian French, the mission would have been comparatively easy, but he knew only a few words of the language, and would be detected the instant he opened his lips.

The canoe was hauled up and carefully concealed on land, and then they lay down until daylight; for no information, as to the strength of the enemy, could be gained in the dark.  In the morning, the two scouts very carefully made their toilet.  They had brought all necessaries with them; and soon, in their Indian hunting shirts and fringed leggings, and with carefully-painted faces, they were in a position to defy the keenest scrutiny.

When, after a careful survey of each other, they felt that their disguise was complete, they moved boldly forward, accompanied by James.  After half an hour’s walking they emerged from the forest, and the strong fort of Crown Point lay before them.

It was constructed of stone, and was capable of withstanding a long siege, by any force which could be brought against it.  Round it was the camp of the French troops, and James judged, from the number of tents, that there must be some 1500 French soldiers there.  A short distance away were a large number of roughly-constructed huts, roofed with boughs of trees.

“Them’s the Canadians,” Jonathan said.  “The redskins never build shelters while on the war path.  There are a heap of redskins about.”

These, indeed, even at the distance of several hundred yards, could be easily distinguished from their white allies, by their plumed headdresses, and by the blankets or long robes of skins which hung from their shoulders.